Fire and Ice
by SLovingLecter
Summary: Two Prophecys were made, one ensured that Harry Potter became the chosen one whilst the other was kept a secret, even from the person of whom it was about. The Dragon Kin. 'Born in fire but charmed by ice, The child will defy him thrice, The blood will sing, The heart will call, To her Drákōn the Dark Lord will fall."
1. Chapter 1

Fire and Ice

By Slovinglecter

Chapter One

Dumbledore sat quietly, his half moon spectacles balanced on the end of his crooked nose as he appeared to stare intently at the ancient wood of his desk. He remained like this for some time, simply waiting. Something was coming, he could feel it his magic, in the magic that surrounded him. Almost as if on cue the stone of his staircase began turning, admitting the person who would change the fate of the war.

"Headmaster, it is done!" Snape stumbled through the large door and into the office, his hair swinging around his gaunt face as he gazed up at the headmaster, his eyes full of triumph. "He knows that the rider has been born."

The Headmaster looked down at the man before him with hard blue eyes, disgust lined his features as he spoke. "You delivered the prophecy as we discussed?"

Snape flinched but nodded, his eyes dropping to the floor. "Yes Headmaster, but forgive me… Why are we forsaking another child when the Dark Lord already-"

"Already believes that Harry Potter will be his undoing?" Dumbledore asked, his tone as icy as his eyes. "Because Harry Potter must survive, in forsaking this child we have saved him. In engineering their friendship I can ensure that he will be protected, and Voldemort will be distracted."

Snape flinched as the mark on his arm burned fiercely at the mention of the Dark Lords name, satisfaction lit in the Headmasters eyes as he watched the man before him squirm uncomfortably.

"Why Snape? Do you feel remorse for condemning a child you do not know, a child which you have no connection to? After all you were so very keen to condemn Harry Potter, to lead Lily's son to slaughter at the hands of your master." Dumbledore advanced on the man cowering on the stone floor, his disgust for him evident in his tone.

"I didn't know… I didn't know!" Snape sobbed, his shoulders heaving.

"Now you have the chance to atone for your sins Severus Snape. You will protect Harry Potter until your dying day, you will sacrifice the rest of your life to ensure that boy survives. For Lily." The Headmaster intoned, watching Snape carefully.

The man on the floor nodded, his stringy hair moving very little. "For Lily." He agreed and the magic swirled around them, sealing him in a debt that he knew would not be paid until he breathed his last.

"Show me." Dumbledore demanded, waving his hand so magic forced Snape's face upward until their eyes met. "Legilimens."

_The room was dark, lit only by a few torches that burned upon the walls of the large hall. At the end was where the darkness was its deepest, from these depths came whispers, softly hissed words that only a parseltongue would have understood. _

_Suddenly a door bangs and the whispers stop, from the end of the hall hurried footsteps make their way across to the darkness, only faltering slightly before kneeling upon its very edge. The mans shoes are the only thing visible and they shine in the firelight of the torches. _

"_Ssstand, Severus." The voice whispers, and the man does so but still his head remains bowed. Almost as though the man feared to look into the darkness, to look at the voice he was speaking with._

"_I come bearing news my lord. A second prophecy made by the same seer, moments before __I__ overheard the first." The man steels himself and raises his eyes, his voice defiant when he speaks again. "That fool Dumbledore trusts me, believes __I__ came to him to beg for the mudblood's protection. He told me of the prophecy."_

"_Show me." The voice whispered, it didn't escape Snape how alike his two masters really were as he prepared his mind. "No Sseverus, project it. I am preserving my strength for Godrics Hollow. I attack tonight." _

_Snape raised his wand to his head and pulled out a silvery strand, letting it float in the air before he whispered an incantation and suddenly they were watching a memory within a memory._

"_Born in fire but charmed by ice,  
__The child will defy him thrice,  
__The blood will sing, the heart will call,  
__To her Dr__ákōn__ the Dark Lord will fall,  
__Their bond will turn the tide of the fight,  
__For without fire,  
__Darkness will extinguish the light."_

_Suddenly the memory swirled and stopped before returning to Snape's head, the silvery glow flaring against his face before disappearing altogether._

"_So, a child of Dragon blood has been born. Dumbledore thinks to distract me by believing a mere babe can best me? A potter no less? No… Now __I__ know the truth. We must find this child of fire Severus, they will be a powerful ally for your Lord."_

_The man bowed lowly, his tension seemingly seeping from him as relief coloured his tone. "__Yes,__ Master."_

"_Now leave, __I__ must prepare for the hollow." Snape straightened suddenly, his black eyes glinting with fear. "My Lord? I thought the boy was of no consequence to you now? Surely the Potters can be-"_

"_NO SEVERUS, A PROPHECY HAS BEEN MADE AND I HAVE BEEN PERCEIVED AS WEAK. Dumbledore wants me to believe his story and so __I__ shall, I will kill the child and anyone who stands in my way. This is Dumbledores wish after all." The voice stopped, seeming to consider something for a moment. "I will spare your mudblood if she steps aside Severus, your lord is a merciful one and you have bought me valuable information."_

_The young man bowed and shuffled backwards "Thank you, my lord."_

Dumbledore withdrew from Snape's mind sharply and turned to his desk as the man scrabbled to his feet and followed. "He is attacking tonight Headmaster, you must save them!"

"They are well protected, the charm-" Snape interrupted, almost screaming as spittle flew from his mouth. "HE KNOWS WHERE THEY ARE, KNOWS THEY ARE HIDDEN IN GODRICS HOLLOW. THE KEEPER OF THE SECRET HAS BETRAYED THEM DUMBLEDORE YOU MUST GET THEM OUT!"

"Do not presume to tell me what to do, Death Eater." Dumbledore span on his heel, his eyes alight with fury as power swirled around him. "Everything is happening as it must, you knew the moment you discovered who that prophecy was about that Lily would not survive. May this be a lesson to you Snape. Your job is to protect the boy. Leave."

As though magic compelled him Snape swept from the room and the door slammed behind him. Moments later Dumbledore watched from the tower as the dark form of his Potions Master swept across the grounds. It did not matter, he had felt the magic shift as they spoke. He had kept him there long enough to prevent him doing anything reckless and ruining the plan. It did not matter that he was on his way to Godrics Hollow, Lily Potter was already dead.


	2. Chapter 2

Fire and Ice

By Slovinglecter

Chapter Two

"Headmaster, this is Potter's fourth year and still you refuse to tell me which child is the Dragon's kin. Have I not proved myself to you time and time again?" Snape demanded, his deep voice wrought with frustration.

"Yes,I Severus, you know you have. But I cannot tell you, not until such a time as you need to know. You are still a liability." Dumbledore spoke to his colleague and friend in much warmer tones now than he had done when the young man had first come crawling to him for forgiveness. He wasn't lying, Severus had proven himself but still… Dumbledore trusted no one.

"The Dark Lord has not returned as you predicted, even if he did he would not penetrate my mind." Snape said, not in a self assured way but simply as though he was stating a fact. Which he was, his strength of mind and will had grown much over the years. So much so that Dumbledore was often glad he had chosen to switch sides.

"I cannot, Severus. For even I am not sure."

"Not sure? The Dragons flown into Hogwarts for this ridiculous task sense the presence of one of their own. They are restless. Nothing Charlie Weasley or Hagrid do will calm them. Potter's head is being offered on a platter and the presence of this supposed friend of his is only going to make their behaviour worse! If you tell me who it is I can teach them, help them control their power… We cannot risk Potters life on the hope that his friend wont have an adolescent fit of emotion whilst he's facing off a Dragon!" Snape breathed heavily, his chest rising and falling under the heavy wool of his robes.

"We will just have to hope that the Dragons sense their kin's worry and so hesitate when the moment comes to face Harry."

"Hope… You want us to 'hope' the boy doesn't get eaten?" With a frustrated growl Snape turned on his heel and stormed out of the Headmaster's office. He wasn't stupid, he had theories about who it could be. After all, the prophecy had specifically said "To **her **Drákōn the Dark Lord will fall." That limited the possibilities severely as there were only so many young girls that could tolerate Potter's presence. So far he had narrowed it down to the Weasley girl and Cho Chang. If it was the Weasley girl they were all doomed, her temper and infatuation for Potter was enough to set the Dragons to burn the castle to the ground. No, if Dumbledore wouldn't help him then it was up to him to find out and to try and help the child, after all some manifestation of her power must have appeared by now.

-o-

From then on he watched Potter like a hawk, his eyes only left him when absolutely necessary. Trying to determine which of his companions was the Dragon's kin was harder than he'd anticipated, all the girls around the boy were simple minded nitwits that cared little for anything beyond their own vain perceptions of themselves.

He quickly became bored of observing them, teenage girls were tediously vapid and the two he had decided were close enough to Potter to possibly be the child of the prophecy seemed to be the most vapid in their year. Weasley trailed after Potter like a lovesick puppy, even whilst entertaining the fancy of other boys her eyes would constantly shoot back to Potter to see if he was watching. He wasn't, his eyes were firmly glued to Cho Chang. He'd even been witness to the idiot boy dribbling all over himself, quite literally, whilst trying to talk to her. Apparently infatuation made you forget the mouthful of pumpkin juice currently occupying the very orifice you used to talk. Cho Chang seemed as unlikely as Weasley to be the kin, whilst she was intelligent she was also vain and cared more for boys and attention than anything else. No, the Dragon kin would be of keen mind and intellect, she would have powerful magic and a natural ease with most spell work, after all magic quite literally thrummed through her blood.

He just needed to find her.

It was in his potions lesson one day where he realised that there was one female companion who he hadn't considered, though it was highly unlikely Granger was the reason for the Dragons restlessness, the fact that she was a muggleborn was enough to reject her as anything more than the annoying know-it-all friend of Potter. Still, he wouldn't dismiss her totally until he'd studied her at intently as he had the other females close to the boy.

So he watched, he was sure if Granger had cared to glance in his direction she'd have been quite dismayed to see the Potions Master observing her so intently. As it was she was too focused on her potion, as she should be. She was capable, he couldn't deny that but it still irked him no end that she refused to listen and instead constantly parroted instructions to Longbottom. How was the boy ever going to learn if she kept spoon-feeding him? It was during this frustrating monologue that Snape noticed something. Before Granger began chopping her ingredients she had lit the cauldron, it burned steadily next to her and the flame seemed to dance in time with her movement.

Impossible.

Snape narrowed his eyes and decided the only way to be sure was to test his theory. "Miss Granger!" He shouted just as she leant over to whisper something to Neville. "Tell me girl, are you deaf or just ignorant?" He asked, his tone at it's deadliest.

Her eyes widened in shock and her hands faltered, as did the flame next to her. She remained silent, looking at him in apt confusion.

"Well girl? Don't just stand there gaping at me, answer the question!" He stood and walked around his desk fluidly, looming over her and her cauldron to covertly get a better look at the fire beneath it.

"I am neither, sir." She stared right back at him, her eyes defiant and glinting. He watched in amazement as the fire next to her crackled.

"Then why do you insist on defying me? Do you enjoy having Longbottom rely on you? Does it make you feel valued that someone needs you to be an insufferable know-it-all and that they will put up with it just so you do all of their work for them?" He knew he was going too far, but he had to be sure. The thought of knowing something Dumbledore didn't spurred him on, and he was rewarded as every flame in the classroom soared momentarily before dimming again.

"Detention Miss Granger, for being unable to control your magic. You are not a first year and I wont have outbursts like that in my classroom. See me after class."

So it was Granger, somewhere in her bloodline must be that of the Dragon Kin, it had been thousands of years since one with the power to connect with the Dragons had been born and rather than the pureblood that the Dark Lord expected it to be, it was a muggleborn girl and best friend of Harry Potter. Suddenly it dawned on him and he heard an echo of Dumbledore many years ago talking about engineering a friendship. He had deliberately put Granger on course to become friends with Potter, whether or not the troll incident in their first year had been manipulated to Dumbledore's advantage he couldn't say, but it had definitely worked in the old mans favour.

How could he have believed that Dumbledore didn't know? He was a fool. Dumbledore had merely been trying to keep it from him, well wouldn't he be surprised when he learned that Granger had been taught by the very man he had tried to keep her power a secret from. He wouldn't send her into the depths of hell without help, they had condemned her by telling Voldemort of her birth and so he would help her prepare as best he could. No matter what he'd said to Dumbledore he had felt the mark on his arm burn and prickle, the Dark Lord was going to return and he would go after the Dragon Kin when he did.

A/N: Please leave a review behind and let me know what you think so far, it helps keep the muse motor running.


	3. Chapter 3

Fire and Ice

By Slovinglecter

Chapter Three

Dinner rolled around and passed all too quickly for Hermione, she had seen Professor Snape after class; only for him to tell her to come and see him after dinner and then sweep from the room. So this was how she found herself stood outside the dungeon classroom once again, preparing herself for whatever awaited her. She took a deep breath and knocked, entering when the stern voice behind the door bade her to do so.

"Professor." Hermione greeted with a terse nod. She hadn't yet forgiven him for belittling her so publicly.

"Miss Granger, please sit down." She faltered before making her way over to her usual desk, a confused frown pursed her lips as she watched him with apprehension written all over her face. "Firstly" he continued "I believe I should apologise for deliberately provoking you, but it was necessary." Hermione noted that whilst he said he should apologise, he still managed to refrain from actually doing so.

"Why was it necessary, Professor?" She asked, her tone suggesting defiance. Clearly Miss Granger had grown up when he wasn't looking and no longer constantly sought his approval. He wasn't sure he liked the change.

"Because Granger, I had to see how you would react, how your magic would react. Tell me, have you noticed yourself losing control like that often?" It helped that his tone was curious rather than condescending. "No sir, it's very rare I get that angry and very few people manage to push me to that point. I do my best not to lose control and I haven't, not since I first discovered I was a witch."

He quirked an eyebrow at her in question. "And your magic first manifested itself as…" He already knew the answer.

"Fire, sir. I nearly burned down our home." She smiled in wry amusement as Snape nodded, like he hadn't expected anything else.

"How many of your friends powers also manifested in such a way?" She shook her head whilst eyeing him suspiciously. "None of their powers manifested as fire. The most common were levitation, making things disappear, blowing things up. I'm given to understand that fire is a rare form of magical manifestation."

Snape nodded at her and leant back against his desk. "You are correct, Miss Granger. In fact it is incredibly rare. I have noticed your power becoming stronger and I would like to offer you tutelage on controlling it."

Hermione blinked, trying not to show just how dazed she was by his pronouncement. "Forgive me sir, but why would you choose to inflict that upon yourself?"

He smirked wryly before answering her. "Because your powers will be a great help in the dark days ahead of us." He knew that was all he needed to say. He watched as he shoulders relaxed and the interest in her face became earnest and open. It always came back to Potter. "First, show me how you produce fire from your wand. I believe you've always had an affinity with fire?" He quirked an eyebrow at her knowingly whilst she flushed scarlet, images of her setting fire to his robes danced through her memory.

"I don't know what you mean sir?" She said as innocently as possible.

"Are you not adept at producing Bluebell Flames, or has Professor Flitwick been overstating your ability?" Inwardly he chuckled as he watched her relax again, this child was so easily read. Yes he knew she had set his robes on fire in her first year, now he understood why that had been the first spell she had thought of. Fire came as naturally to her as breathing did to him. "So, proceed." He gestured with a flick of his fingers and she placed her wand down on the well used surface of her workspace.

"Actually Professor, I don't usually use a wand when producing fire." He barely concealed his surprise at this statement, how could a teenage girl already be adept at wandlessly controlling fire? Clearly he had underestimated her.

He watched as the girl extended her hand, palm up and suddenly a small flame appeared, flickering in the centre and casting a strange shadow over her slightly curled fingers. Next she bought her hands together and the size of the flame doubled, he watched as she moved her hands like she was cradling the fire and it grew in size rapidly, licking at her fingers in a loving way.

Snape couldn't help but be impressed as he watched her. There was a smile of total contentment on her face and her brown eyes danced with the flame's reflection. "Impressive" he murmured, almost by accident. The beaming smile he received from her made him want to shift uncomfortably.

"Do you find it easily controlled? Fire can be unpredictable and volatile, all it would take is a slip of your concentration an-" She interrupted him swiftly, gracefully. "Forgive the interruption, sir, but I don't find it volatile at all. It whispers to me like magic, it listens to me." Almost as if it were eager to prove her point the fire danced up her arm in a spiral and licked at her face, her robes remained untouched from even the slightest singe. Her eyes were aglow with mischief as she advanced toward him. "I can even decide who it burns."

The flame reduced in size to sit back in her palm again and she extended it forwards toward him. "Try touching it."

His look was pure incredulity before the glow of the flame caught his eyes once again. It was beautiful really, how it flickered in and out of life and suddenly he was seized with the urge to touch it. He didn't know if it was his own curiosity or her strange power that pulled his hand towards it, his pale fingers paused before flicking over the flame. Where he had expected to feel overwhelming heat and pain he instead felt a pleasing warmth. "Extraordinary." He spoke quietly, like he was fearful that any loud noise would startle the flame which danced between the gaps in his fingers.

Suddenly, as though he was doused by icy water Snape came back to himself. He quickly stepped away and resumed his previous position leaning against his desk. "How many of your friends have you bragged about your power too?" He wanted to know how easily word of her powers would reach the Dark Lord, when the time came.

She shook her head and closed her fist around the flame, extinguishing it. He was almost sad to see it go. "No one knows, no one asked." She shrugged her shoulders as if that explained everything. He could imagine what it was like to be Hermione Granger, only wanted for her intellect and the help she could provide with homework. No one was interested enough to know her, not really. Not even the two boys she claimed were her best friends. Strangely enough he knew all too well what it was like, he had been just like Hermione Granger once.

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